NASCAR Statistical Advance: Analyzing the CHEEZ-IT 355 At The Glen

Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York going into the CHEEZ-IT 355 At The Glen on August 11.

WATKINS GLEN-SPECIFIC STATISTICS

A J Allmendinger (No. 47 Scott Products Toyota)

·One top five, two top 10s

·Average finish of 9.0

·Average Running Position of 14.2, ninth-best

·Driver Rating of 92.4, eighth-best

·Average Green Flag Speed of 119.404 mph, seventh-fastest

Marcos Ambrose (No. 9 Stanley/ CTC Jumpstart Ford)

·Two wins, five top fives, five top 10s

·Average finish of 2.0

·Average Running Position of 9.1, second-best

·Driver Rating of 120.1, second-best

·95 Fastest Laps Run, second-most

·Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 120.216 mph

·342 Laps in the Top 15 (75.7%), 12th-most

·134 Quality Passes, 12th-most

Kurt Busch (No. 78 Furniture Row/DenverMattress Chevrolet)

·One top five, four top 10s; one pole

·Average finish of 20.8

·Driver Rating of 90.7, ninth-best

·47 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most

·317 Green Flag Passes, 11th-most

·Average Green Flag Speed of 119.514 mph, sixth-fastest

·395 Laps in the Top 15 (54.6%), 10th-most

·147 Quality Passes, ninth-most

Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota)

·One win, three top fives, seven top 10s; one pole

·Average finish of 9.0

·Average Running Position of 10.9, fourth-best

·Driver Rating of 110.2, fourth-best

·60 Fastest Laps Run, third-most

·Average Green Flag Speed of 119.645 mph, fourth-fastest

·527 Laps in the Top 15 (72.8%), third-most

·159 Quality Passes, sixth-most

Carl Edwards (No. 99 Kelloggs/ CHEEZ-IT Ford)

·Three top fives, five top 10s; one pole

·Average finish of 9.4

·Average Running Position of 12.8, seventh-best

·Driver Rating of 94.0, seventh-best

·506 Laps in the Top 15 (69.9%), fourth-most

·162 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet)

·Four wins, six top fives, nine top 10s; two poles

·Average finish of 14.8

·Average Running Position of 14.3, 10th-best

·Driver Rating of 88.6, 13th-best

·360 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most

·158 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota)

·One top five, four top 10s

·Average finish of 19.6

·Average Running Position of 14.6, 11th-best

·Driver Rating of 89.6, 10th-best

·410 Laps in the Top 15 (64.9%), ninth-most

·151 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet)

·One win, two top fives, six top 10s

·Average finish of 13.1

·Average Running Position of 15.6, 12th-best

·Driver Rating of 88.8, 12th-best

·329 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most

·Average Green Flag Speed of 119.025 mph, 12th-fastest

·442 Laps in the Top 15 (61.0%), fifth-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)

·Four top fives, six top 10s; one pole

·Average finish of 13.2

·Average Running Position of 9.8, third-best

·Driver Rating of 102.0, fifth-best

·27 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most

·Average Green Flag Speed of 119.623 mph, fifth-fastest

·573 Laps in the Top 15 (79.1%), second-most

·164 Quality Passes, third-most

Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Miller Lite Ford)

·Two top fives, two top 10s

·Average finish of 8.0

·Average Running Position of 12.7, sixth-best

·Driver Rating of 101.7, sixth-best

·25 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most

·Average Green Flag Speed of 119.384 mph, eighth-fastest

Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42 Target Chevrolet)

·One win, two top fives, four top 10s; one pole

·Average finish of 15.0

·Average Running Position of 11.0, fifth-best

·Driver Rating of 110.5, third-best

·59 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most

·Average Green Flag Speed of 120.036 mph, third-fastest

·431 Laps in the Top 15 (79.5%), sixth-most

Tony Stewart (No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet)

·Five wins, seven top fives, 10 top 10s

·Average finish of 7.9

·Series-best Average Running Position of 5.7

·Series-best Driver Rating of 120.4

·Series-high 106 Fastest Laps Run

·Average Green Flag Speed of 120.062 mph, second-fastest

·Series-high 678 Laps in the Top 15 (93.6%)

·Series-high 195 Quality Passes

Martin Truex Jr. (No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota)

·Two top fives, four top 10s

·Average finish of 13.7

·Average Running Position of 13.1, eighth-best

·Driver Rating of 89.2, 11th-best

·431 Laps in the Top 15 (68.2%), sixth-most

·162 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Chase Contenders

The Top 10

Following Race 21 of 36

RankSeason

LastDriver

Driver

Points

Wins

Poles

Week

Rating

1. Jimmie Johnson

772

4

2

1

114.9

2. Clint Bowyer

695

0

0

2

93.1

3. Carl Edwards

688

1

1

3

92.4

4. Kevin Harvick

675

2

0

4

92.3

5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

656

0

1

5

95.5

6. Kyle Busch

646

2

3

7

102.5

7. Matt Kenseth

638

4

2

6

109.9

8. Kasey Kahne

612

2

0

9

102.7

9. Jeff Gordon

602

0

0

10

88.9

10. Greg Biffle

599

1

0

8

81.6

ADDITIONAL DRIVERS

11. Tony Stewart (1 win)

594

32. David Reutimann

307

12. Brad Keselowski

592

33. J.J. Yeley

296

13. Kurt Busch

588

34. David Stremme

285

14. Martin Truex Jr. (1 win)

584

35. Travis Kvapil

271

15. Ryan Newman (1 win)

575

36. AJ Allmendinger

244

16. Jamie McMurray

566

37. Michael McDowell

109

17. Joey Logano

561

38. Michael Waltrip

102

18. Aric Almirola

554

39. Timmy Hill

99

19. Paul Menard

532

40. Scott Speed

91

20. Jeff Burton

507

41. Terry Labonte

77

21. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

505

42. Ken Schrader

68

22. Marcos Ambrose

500

43. Boris Said

26

23. Juan Pablo Montoya

476

44. Ron Fellows

22

24. Casey Mears

440

45. Justin Marks

14

25. Denny Hamlin

389

46. Scott Riggs

10

26. David Ragan (1 win)

376

47. Victor Gonzalez Jr.

7

27. Danica Patrick

373

48. Tomy Drissi

6

28. David Gilliland

368

49. Alex Kennedy

6

29. Mark Martin

361

50. Brian Keselowski

4

30. Bobby Labonte

328

51. Jacques Villeneuve

3

31. Dave Blaney

312

52. Jason Leffler

1

Note:The first 26 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season determine which 12 drivers qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, contested over the final 10 races of the season. After race No. 26, the top 10 earn a berth in the Chase. Spots 11 and 12 – the Wild Cards – will go to those drivers outside the top 10 with the most wins, provided they are in the top 20.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2013 Top 12 at Watkins Glen International

The top-10 drivers will make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Positions 11 and 12 in the 12-driver Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup are Wild Cards, and will go to drivers outside the top 10 with the most wins, as long as they are ranked in the top 20 in points. If multiple drivers outside the top 10 tie for wins, the tie-breaker will go to the race winner with the highest points position.

At Watkins Glen International:

History

·After several events were held on the streets of Watkins Glen, a permanent facility was opened in 1956.

·After a six-year absence, NASCAR returned to The Glen in 1964 and 1965.

·After a 21-year absence, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returned to The Glen, and has run one race a year there since 1986.

Notebook

·There have been 30 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Watkins Glen International, one race per season.

·The first NSCS race at Watkins Glen was scheduled for 101.2-miles in 1957, the second race was 161.7-miles (1964) and the third race was 151.8-miles (1965). Every race since has been scheduled for 220.5-miles.

·245 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen; 151 in more than one.

·Mark Martin, Michael WaltripandTerry Labontelead the series in starts at Watkins Glen with 22 each.

·Buddy Bakerwon the inaugural Coors Light pole at Watkins Glen in 1957 with a speed of 87.071 mph.

·18 drivers have Coors Light poles at Watkins Glen, led by NASCAR Hall of FamerDale EarnhardtandMark Martinwith three each.

·NASCAR Hall of FamerBobby Allisonholds the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series record for the most wins (six) at a single road course track – Riverside International Raceway.

·Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory (MOV) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Watkins Glen was the 2001 race won byJeff GordonoverJeff Burtonwith a MOV of 0.172 second.

·Only one of the 30 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Watkins Glen has been shortened due to weather conditions – the 1992 race – only 51 of the scheduled 90 laps were completed. The Aug. 14, 2011 race was the only NSCS race at Watkins Glen that was postponed to another date due to weather (8/15/2011).

·Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Watkins Glen six times; most recently in 2008.

·Todd Bodine(8/10/1997) posted his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light pole at Watkins Glen.

·One active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver has posted his first career win at Watkins Glen:Marcos Ambrose(08/15/11).

·Jeff Gordonleads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Watkins Glen with 233 laps led in 20 starts.

·Danica Patrickwill attempt to joinPatty Moiseas the second female NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to compete at Watkins Glen.